Average Customer Review: ( 34 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 found the following review helpful:
 Spatial Funk with multiple textures Jul 21, 2002
By Phil Avetxori
Minimal techno master Richie Hawtin really delivers the goods with this one. His previous mix cd gave heart to all of us who thought the man had abandoned the dancefloor for the gallery/lecture hall. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but Hawtin has always impressed with his ability to delver maximum funk with minimal means. You all know the story by now: 300 loops culled from 70 records, mixed live on a laptop. Like the "Decks, Fx, and 909" disc, this mix takes you on a journey, from ultra-spare Berlin dubtech, through epic Detroit floorfillers, and into quirky Cologne pop n' slide grooves, with weirdos like Baby Ford and Thomas Brinkmann thrown in along the way. Let's keep this "eclecticism" in perspective, however, lest any Digweed yuppies or Hardware e-tards set themselves up for disappointment. Being the brainchild of the Plastikman, this mix is quite minimal throughout: no filler, no fat, just tasty techno grooves where the funk is as much in the spaces as in the sounds. The bits and beats themselves are varied and always interesting, with many different timbral and tonal qualities creating multihued dots and smears within the skeletal arrangements. Although restricted to a driving 4-on-the-floor pulse, the overlying polyrhythms explore a wide assortment of variations on basic dancefloor bump. All chinstroking aside, Hawtin manages to stake out new dancefloor territory, while never neglecting the needs of the feet or posterior, er..funkwise. Ok, just bump it and get down. Simple as that.
5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
Redefining the DJ. Nov 11, 2001
By Balazs Bognar
By now, Richie Hawtin is easily one of the best known musicians and DJs in electronic music, with a cult following as large as his reputation. Originally from Windsor, Ontario, this Canadian had an early curiosity in the early developments in Detroit techno across the river. Within the early 1990s, Hawtin was reponsible for several musical experiments including FUSE, Cybersonik (in collaboration with fellow experimentalist Dan Bell), From Within (with Fax/Germany's Pete Namlook), and the now infamous Plastikman. Hawtin has always maintained a steadfast adherence to strong musical concepts, and has insisted on looking for new directions in electronic music. Even the events hosted by his labels Plus 8 and now M-nus and THX are grounded in conceptual undercurrents.Though the author of several significant contributions to acid techno, ambient, and searing minimal techno, Hawtin has never really taken the time to rest on his proverbial laurels. His earlier Decks, EFX & 909 mix (released by Mute and M-nus) showcased his fluid mastery of three turntables, effects processors, and a drum machine, in a rapid-fire slew of 38 tracks. With Closer to the Edit, Hawtin essentially redfines the role of the DJ: the term "remix" takes on a whole new dimension. Here, he selects some 300 different loops, beats, phrases, and noises from 70 different tracks, and pieces them together into what he calls a musical jigsaw puzzle, with the use of effects and Final Scratch software to assemble the parts. The result is a mind-boggling, layered pastiche of solid techno beats and "futuristic" funk. Hawtin skillfully infuses just enough "melody" and warm tones to round out the mix. The assembly feels like a single composition, mutating and shifting throughout the 53 or so minutes, with elements of up to four or five tracks playing at the same time. Though it is impossible to pinpoint individual tracks through this reinterpretation, Hawtin draws upon sounds from Rino Cerrone, Stewart Walker, the German label Perlon, and others--a much wider range of sounds and rhythms than in the first mix. This mix, as well as the earlier Decks, EFX & 909, is highly recommended, especially if one has not had the chance to see Hawtin's ability in a live setting. Hawtin, though surrounded by machines and software, has proven that yes, there is a human behind the so-called machine-music--techno has made yet another step forward.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Possibly one of the greatest Feb 28, 2005
By S. Stroud
"tech-head"
Hawtin demonstrated with Decks EFX & 909 that he has a supernatural control of rhythm and timber. DE9 takes it to the next level. This may be called minimal tech, but it's minimal in name only, but not at all by nature. He layers patterns on top of patterns with such amazing speed and dexterity that I had to rewind it dozens and dozens of times just to see if my ears decieved me... they did not.
Subtlety is one of the strongest points of this CD. Unlike almost every other mix CD, it's almost impossible to tell when he starts mixing from one track into the next. He rarely ever lets the music go for over 30 seconds without tweaking the beats here, adding a kick drum there. The beats ebb and flow with a syncopated, organic brilliance. The music takes on a life of it's own.
For the full effect, listen to the CD on high-quality headphones, this way you will be able to hear every quite little nuance.
Richie Hawtin is a genius, and this is one of his many masterpieces. It does NOT get any better than this.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Getting 'Closer To The Edit' Indeed.... Oct 30, 2003
By fetish_2000
Initially after having listen to Richie's "Decks, EFX & 909", I tried this his eagerly awaited follow-up, and although a fantastic album, a slightly feeling of disappointment couldn't be escaped...due undoubtedly to my expectance of a Dancefloor / Home interchangeable like "Deck Efx...", but that was in 2001.....and approaching the album very recently, after coming in at the early hours of the morning, something upbeat, but low in volume was needed. Richie has systematically taken 30 tracks for artists such as "Basic Channel, Thomas Brinkmann, Stewart Walker", as well as some of his own tracks, and broken down each track to it most basic elements (i.e. basic instrument samples), leaving him with 70+ tracks...with which he intricately rebuilds and reinterprets the tracks, which he condenses into 31 tracks....and going back and listening to it no is a jaw dropping experience with Dub/Electro/Breaks/Electronica & obviously techno all reinvented with a very minimalist interpretation...that makes for some hypnotic listening, recognising how Richie starts very slowly with semi Dub-techno, and very intricately & methodically stepping up the tempo every so slightly track by track....possibly not Richie most recognised work, but certain his most technical.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
The difference between a DJ and an artist Feb 11, 2002
Is Ritche a brilliant DJ? Sure. He was already amazing 10 years ago in Detroit. But he has gone so far beyond.....
Yet again, Ritche changes the entire construct by which we interpret dance music. I know that sounds like pompus crap, but its true. That being said, the CD FREAKING ROCKS! No muss, no fuss, no childish bubble gum dance garbage. Intense, minimal, very danceable techno. I listen to this in my car and find myself driving 85mph...It Rules.
See all 34 customer reviews on Amazon.com
|
based on 34 reviews
